


To Bemuse or not to Bemuse

by poeticlicense



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Friends to Lovers, M/M, Slow Burn, Young Love, pitiful attempt at humor
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-08-30
Updated: 2016-09-16
Packaged: 2018-08-12 01:10:20
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 16,643
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7914550
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/poeticlicense/pseuds/poeticlicense
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Albus Potter didn’t know Scorpius Malfoy very well, but he was certain that his family’s preconceived notions about the boy were wrong (and it had nothing to do with his huge crush on the guy). With a little help from Shakespeare, Albus is able to befriend the Malfoy and uncover truths about the boy both foreseen and completely unexpected. He set out to destroy the prejudice his family felt toward Scorpius and in the process discovers secrets about himself and Scorpius that leave him defenseless.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Shakespeare in Love

It all began in February. It seemed like every other day, as most life-altering days first appear. Albus had just started a new book. It was about the French revolution. He had recently sparked an interested in historically accurate fiction and had already made quite a dent in his home library’s collection. Albus had just settled down into his favorite chair near the window when he overheard a conversation much too loud for the library. He didn’t intend to listen as Albus generally had very little interest in other people but he recognized the voices and the students they belonged to. Peering over his book, Albus watched as Scorpius Malfoy and James Potter, his older brother, argued over the Quidditch pitch schedule. James, who was in his seventh year, captained the Gryffindor Quidditch team with a passion Albus had previously believed to only be reserved for newlyweds. Scorpius captained the Slytherin Quidditch team and the key to his success was his unwavering determination to be better than every other person alive, especially James. 

“You’ve held the Quidditch pitch every day this week!” James complained. He was towering over Scorpius who was sitting at a table in the corner. He had books spread out in front of him and looked to be about halfway through an essay for potions class. Albus watched the boy as he rolled his eyes at James. Scorpius gave the room a once over before responding and Albus was certain they held eye contact for an entire second. 

“I’ve held the Quidditch pitch every day this week because I signed up for it. Perhaps if you’d thought preemptively and reserved the pitch in advance, you’d be practicing right now,” Scorpius drawled out. The fifth year had a talent for talking down to others and James fell privy quite often. Albus, who existed solely to observe his arrogant brother get taken down a notch, couldn’t help but smirk. James, however, was not amused. 

“Your team hasn’t used the pitch in days! You don’t even have another match to play this season!” James exclaimed. He pointed out the window which had a direct view of the Quidditch pitch. Unsurprisingly the field was empty. 

“It’s been too cold,” Scorpius told him, choosing to ignore the latter part of the argument. He shrugged his shoulders and averted his attention back to his essay as if to say their conversation was over.   
“You’re doing this on purpose! The Gryffindor/Hufflepuff match is in two week and you’re trying to sabotage us!” James slammed his hand down on the table to regain Scorpius’ attention. 

“Why would I do that?” Scorpius asked innocently. 

“Don’t play with me, Malfoy! I know you’ve been letting Turner and her team practice during your time! You’re sour about us winning the Gryffindor/Slytherin match and now you’re trying to set us up for failure! You can’t do that.”

“I’m not doing anything. Bailey kindly asked me if she and her fellow Hufflepuffs could use the pitch on Mondays and Thursdays and I said yes.” Scorpius managed to sound almost polite. Albus was impressed by his demeanor. If he’d never met Scorpius he might have mistaken him for a reasonable man. 

“Fine,” James huffed. He looked as if he was going to walk away right then and there but instead he said through gritted teeth, “May I please use the Quidditch pitch on Friday?” 

Albus’s mouth almost dropped in shock. This may have been the first time he had ever seen his brother lose an argument, and this was clearly a loss. It was impossible to miss the spark in Scorpius’s eye when James finally choked the words out. 

“You’re asking me for a favor, James? How very unlike you.” Scorpius sounded utterly delighted and it was impossible to miss the devilish grin plastered on his face. 

James grunted in response, which resulted in an inquisitive glance from Scorpius. Clearly he wasn’t going to agree without completely humiliating James. Albus couldn’t help but wonder what James might look like after being stripped of all his pride. 

“Please, Scorpius. Please let me use the pitch. We can’t lose this game,” James begged. He was all but on his knees but still Scorpius didn’t seem satisfied. 

“I’m just not sure. Does it have to be Friday?” Scorpius questioned. The smirk that he’s been wearing escalated into a full-on smile and Albus half began to expect Scorpius to begin cackling madly before the conversation was finished. 

“What day works for you, Scorpius?” James asked through gritted teeth. 

“What about Saturday?” Scorpius suggested.

James hesitated for a moment, as if unwilling to agree. The monthly trip to Hogsmeade was that weekend and even Albus knew how hard it would be to convince all of the Gryffindor Quidditch team to skip it. Still, he didn’t really have a choice.

“Sure,” James grunted. “That’ll work fine.” 

“Great. I’m sure you’ll have tons of privacy as nearly everyone will be Hogsmeade,” Scorpius said to further fuel the fire. 

“Yeah. Lucky us.” James said. “Thank you, Scorpius.”

“You’re welcome, James. Oh, and next time, perhaps you should consider a little forethought. Perhaps you’re just not captain material.”

Albus watched James clench his fists but he said nothing. Instead, he turned and left Scorpius to continue his studying. He stormed out of the library and the door slammed behind him. Anyone who was not eavesdropping on the argument jumped in their seat at the noise. Scorpius sat back in his chair looking satisfied with himself and Albus admired him from across the room. After several minutes Scorpius returned to his essay but the smile did not fade from his lips. Albus watched him for a while, though he was doing nothing of interest, his book completely forgotten. It was clear his curiosity was shifting from historically accurate fiction to something, rather someone, slightly more exciting. 

 

The realization that his fascination with Scorpius Malfoy was not going to subside anytime soon began to dawn on Albus. Though he assured himself it was just hormones and that Scorpius was an attractive young man, he had to admit that perhaps his interest in the boy wasn’t entirely superficial. Albus had always admired Scorpius. They were both sorted into Slytherin and have therefore been acquainted with one another for five years. Their paths crossed often, but due to the nature of their family histories, they fell in with wildly different crowds. 

Albus spent most of his free time with his cousin Rose, whom he supposed was his best friend. He had a few other acquaintances, only one of whom was a fellow Slytherin, but for the most part Albus could widely be considered a loner. Scorpius, son of Draco Malfoy, captain of the Slytherin Quidditch team, and Slytherin Prefect, was friendly with the sort of crowd every member of the Potter/Weasley clan advised he avoid. They were loud, pompous, and utterly reprehensible. During his first year they tried to recruit young Albus upon Scorpius’ suggestion, though he stupidly dodged their advances due to his family’s ignorant warnings. He’d regretted this decision for the next few years, but ultimately he resigned himself to a quiet life with Rose that didn’t involve shocking and appalling his entire family. 

Albus’ interest in Scorpius peaked at the worst possible time, too, due to his ever growing feud with James. The brothers hadn’t gotten along since they were little, but Albus still had a strong sense of loyalty to James. They were family, after all. So, of course Albus couldn’t do anything about his interest but his imagination had been running sort of rampant lately and he’d always had an overactive imagination anyway. As a result, he had to keep his feelings for Scorpius hidden. This meant it was much harder for Albus to stalk him. It wasn’t until the Saturday Hogsmeade trip that he got an ample opportunity to observe Scorpius again in a proper setting. 

Scorpius sat at a table in The Three Broomsticks with two of his closest Slytherin friends, Aidan Cunningham and Simon Dedworth. Albus sat a table directly across from Scorpius and pretended to listen to Rose complain about her latest grade in Transfiguration. He watched the trio as they laughed and drank butterbeers. It was hard to hear what they were talking about but Albus was sure he heard Simon mention James. They were probably laughing about the Gryffindor Quidditch team having to miss the trip for the sake of practicing. Albus didn’t really care what they were talking about so long as he had a decent view of Scorpius. 

The Slytherin boy wore his usual smirk, which further hinted at the current discussion point. When he laughed he titled his head back slightly and his blond hair became faintly disheveled. Possibly the most alluring physical quality Scorpius possessed were his grey eyes that still managed to light up in the most delightfully mischievous way. Sonnets have been written about eyes like his, Albus was sure. If not, he had a mind to write one. He stared almost flagrantly for several minutes before the Malfoy boy glanced over at him. Albus shifted in his seat and looked away, but not before catching an obvious smirk thrown in his direction. When he looked back up Scorpius was still looking at him. Albus apprehensively made eye contact which resulted in a wink from Scorpius before the boy looked away. He tried his best not to blush, sure that while Rose didn’t notice much, she would catch on if his face turned another color. Albus didn’t succeed, however, because in the next moment Rose was up in arms.

“Are you alright?” She questioned. “You look flushed?”

“I’m fine, Rose. Too much butterbeer, I guess,” Albus said with a shrug. He couldn’t help but glance at Scorpius again, however.

“Perhaps you should switch drinks,” Rose suggested before continuing on with her story. 

Albus was sure that the warm feeling in his stomach had nothing to do with the butterbeer. He considered the possibility the he had imagined the smirk and the wink. It was inconceivable that Scorpius Malfoy would passively flirt with him. That’s what it was, wasn’t it? Albus had never actually flirted before so he could have been mistaken. Scorpius could have been teasing him. That was easily a possibility. People teased Albus all the time. He didn’t play Quidditch, his only friend was his cousin, and he walked around with his head shoved in a book. Still, though, Scorpius Malfoy winked at him and the connotation behind it didn’t matter because the image would be burned into his brain forever no matter what. 

The rest of the day was a blur. He followed Rose around to every store in Hogsmeade because she liked to get the full experience when they visited. Normally he would have been annoyed, but Albus had fallen into a trace of sorts and had blindly walked through one store at a time until eventually they were sat in carriages waiting for the ride back to Hogwarts. Rose and Albus were the only passengers on their carriage until a familiar blond head of hair appeared at the door. 

“Do you mind if I sit with you?” Scorpius asked politely. He looked directly at Albus when he asked, but it was Rose who responded.

“I suppose not,” She said in a huff. Rose stuck up her nose and turned her head away as Scorpius climbed into their carriage. 

“Albus,” Scorpius began. The youngest Potter son perked up to the sound of his name coming from the other boy’s mouth. “Did you have a decent trip to Hogsmeade?” His question was innocent but Albus could recognize the suggestive nature of his tone.

“I suppose I did,” Albus responded, avoiding eye contact. Albus and Scorpius had not conversed socially in several years. His heart was beating extraordinarily fast and Albus was worried that if he were to look up his heart would be visible through his sweater. 

“I’m sure you had a much better day than your brother,” Scorpius said, a haughtiness to his tone. Albus could help but laugh at the boy’s candor and he gave him a wary smile.

“Then I’d call this a successful day,” Albus replied. He glanced up at Scorpius long enough to catch the wicked grin he was wearing. He then glanced at Rose who was staring at him like he was crazy. He and Scorpius noticed her at the same time.

“I suppose you had a nice time as well, Rosaline.”

“My name is Rose,” She told him irritably.

“Oh, I know. Rosaline makes you sound so formal, though,” Scorpius drawled, throwing another smirk in Albus’ direction. He and Rose had always been close, so in theory he shouldn’t have been amused by Scorpius mocking her, but he couldn’t help the grin that appeared on his lips.

“Rose is fine,” She said forcefully. 

Scorpius held his hands up in surrender and said, “All right. Rose it is. You never answered my question, though.”

“I had a nice time, yes,” She replied curtly averting her attention to anything other than Scorpius. 

“Is she always like this?” Scorpius asked Albus.

“She’s usually quite pleasant,” Albus insisted lightheartedly. 

“It must be the company,” Rose mumbled. 

“You shouldn’t speak ill of your cousin, Rose,” Scorpius told her. “He’s family.”

Rose didn’t respond to his taunt, but he didn’t seem to mind. Instead, Scorpius focused his attention entirely on Albus. 

“I’m not usually such a wise-ass,” Scorpius told him. He was still smiling from ear to ear. Clearly the Malfoy boy derived pleasure from infuriating others. Albus hated that he found that quality endearing. 

“You’re normally just a regular ass, right?” Albus questioned jestingly. He matched Scorpius’ smile perfectly as he completely ignored Rose’s look of indignation. 

“One conversation and you’ve figured me out completely, eh Potter?” Scorpius teased.

“That and five years of observation,” Albus stated. 

“You’ve been observing me, have you?” Scorpius questioned. He was clearly intrigued, though he tried to mask it with a mocking tone. 

“Only when my book is boring,” Albus said quickly in an attempt to save face.

“Glad I can entertain you when the modern novel fails,” Scorpius quipped as the carriage slowed to a stop. Albus looked around and noticed for the first time that they’d arrived at the castle. “I’ll talk to you later, Albus. You too, Rosaline.” Scorpius added as he jumped out of the carriage and walked toward the school.

Albus sat in shocked silence for a moment unable to fully grasp that he and Scorpius Malfoy just had a conversation. That he’d participated in banter with Scorpius Malfoy. They he made Scorpius Malfoy smirk his devilish smirk. He shivered in his seat. 

“How can you stand talking to that guy?” Rose huffed as she moved passed him to exit the carriage.

“What do you mean?” Albus asked. He was still dazed by the events that transpired mere minutes ago. 

“He’s a complete jerk. Everything he says is meant to mock or irritate another person,” Rose explained indignantly. 

“Scorpius isn’t so bad, Rose. He was just kidding around,” Albus replied, finally moving to follow her out of the carriage. 

“He’s unpleasant and rude. I don’t like him.”

“You don’t know him, Rose,” Albus retorted earnestly. 

“You don’t know him either, Albus,” Rose reminded him.

“I wouldn’t mind knowing him.”

“You’re kidding?” Rose said. She turned to stare at him in surprise. In the history of forever no Potter had ever wanted to get to know a Malfoy. Albus could practically hear the lecture before she gave it. “You know what Malfoys are like! You’ve heard the stories! You can’t possibly be serious.”

“Just because his last name is Malfoy doesn’t mean he’s automatically a bad guy,” Albus argued, unable to keep the hostility out of his voice. 

“He’s a Malfoy, he’s a Slytherin, and he treats people like garbage,” Rose said, counting Scorpius’ faults on each of her fingers. “I think all of those qualities add up to ‘Bad Guy’.”

“Him calling you ‘Rosaline’ doesn’t equate to him treating people like garbage.” 

“What about how he treats James?” Rose questioned. She glared at him with accusatory eyes.

“James treats people like garbage!” Albus shouted. “I’m his brother and he treats me like garbage.”

“You can’t possibly think James is worse than Scorpius,” Rose beseeched. 

“I can possibly think that,” Albus retorted. “And anyway, what does it matter? It’s not like Scorpius and I are going to best friends or anything! I just don’t think he’s as bad as everyone makes him out to be!” 

“Maybe,” Rose said challengingly “You just have a crush on him.” 

“You’re ridiculous and we’re not talking about this anymore,” Albus stated matter-of-factly. He turned and stormed off to the Slytherin common room.

“What about dinner?” Rose called out after him.

“I’m not hungry!”

As Albus shuffled back to his common room he considered what Rose said. Not the crush thing. Albus was long past that realization. It was the other thing. He didn’t really know Scorpius at all. For all he knew, he could have been defending a rampant psychopathic murderer. Albus wanted to believe that there was more to Scorpius than money and arrogance but when it came down to it, he had nothing to base his theory on. 

 

Albus considered his and Rose’s conversation for several more days before deciding that he should get to know Scorpius. If he could give him the Potter Stamp of Approval maybe the rest of his family would relax. Albus didn’t believe it was fair to judge someone by their name or their family history or their Hogwarts house. The only problem with this little social experiment of his was that he would have to actively try and communicate with Scorpius, which was an incredibly daunting task for someone who had never once in his life actively tried to communicate with anyone. He and Scorpius hadn’t spoken since the Hogsmeade trip and Albus began to question if their conversation was a one-time fluke. He had just made up his mind to try and initiate a conversation with the Malfoy boy when he plopped down across from him at the breakfast table.

“For the first time this week I walked into the Great Hall and you weren’t staring at me,” Scorpius said plainly. “You kind of threw off my whole routine.” Albus sat in his chair shocked for a moment before thinking of a response.

“I don’t stare at you that much,” was all Albus could come up with to say. 

“I know what being stared at feels like, Albus,” Scorpius told him. “People stare at me a lot.”

“Do people also often tell you how humble you are?” Albus joked in an attempt to change the subject. Scorpius didn’t bite.

“So, why weren’t you staring? You don’t have a book in front of you and I’m supposed to be the next most interesting thing, so what gives?”

“You have a very fragile ego, don’t you Scorpius?” Albus questioned innocently.

“Oh yes, so fragile. Throw one stone and I shatter,” Scorpius responded. He threw in a good natured smile as well, which caused Albus to go temporarily braindead. 

“I was staring at Laurence Nott,” Albus answered. “He’s my new favorite staring subject. I know everything there is to know about you so I figured it was time to move on.”

“I never knew I was such an open-book,” Scorpius teased. 

“You’re a lot easier to read than Shakespeare, that’s for sure,” Albus joked, though he was met with a perplexed expression. 

“Who?” Scorpius asked tersely. It clearly pained him to have to ask Albus for clarification. 

“Oh, sorry. Shakespeare is a muggle playwright from the 16th century,” Albus explained. “He was very popular in his day. Queen Elizabeth loved his work, though it’s rather difficult to understand now.” 

“Shakespeare?” Scorpius repeated, trying the name out. “I’ve never heard of him.” He sounded slightly dejected. 

“He was a muggle,” Albus repeated. “It makes sense that you wouldn’t know him. Don’t be embarrassed or anything.”

“I’m not embarrassed,” Scorpius said hastily sounding more than a little slighted. “Anyway, if he’s a muggle, how do you know about him?”

“I read tons of books written by muggles,” Albus told him proudly. He was rather pleased with the collection of books he’d acquired in his fifteen years of living. “We have a whole library of them at my house.” 

“But why?” Scorpius asked. Albus had never seen the Malfoy boy like this before. They were encroaching on a subject that the boy had no familiarity with. Scorpius found the one thing he didn’t have superior knowledge of. Albus couldn’t imagine how insecure he must have been feeling. 

“I like to read,” Albus answered simply. “It doesn’t matter who wrote the book I’m reading. It just matters that it’s good.” 

“And these muggle books,” Scorpius began. “They’re good?”

“A lot of them, yeah!” Albus said happily. “You should borrow some of mine! You like reading, don’t you?”

“I love reading,” Scorpius assured him. “I don’t think my parents would love the idea of me reading muggle literature though.” 

Albus felt sorry for Scorpius but tried not to show it for fear of upsetting him. Instead Albus said, “Your parents don’t need to know.”

Scorpius thought this over for a second and nodded his head. “You’re right. How would they find out anyway?”

“So it’s decided. Meet me in my dorm after classes today. You can borrow my copy of Shakespeare’s ‘Henry V’. It’s one of my favorites,” Albus told him excitedly. He watched as Scorpius’ face lit up as well. This friendship thing would not be as hard as Albus previously thought.


	2. Animal House

Albus ran back to the Slytherin common room after classes and up the stairs to his dorm room. He lived in one of the two fifth year Slytherin boy dorms and he shared it with four other boys, none of whom were Scorpius, unfortunately. Albus took ‘Henry V’ out of his trunk and set it aside for Scorpius before deciding that the boy needed a larger selection. He pulled out a few more classic muggle English novels including Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein and Charles Dickens Great Expectations. By the time Albus was finished collecting books to let Scorpius borrow his pile had accumulated to seven novels, three plays, and a collection of poetry. Albus was surveying the pile, searching for a way to trim it down, when he heard a knock at the door.

“Come in,” Albus said after opening the door. Scorpius stepped inside and his eyes instantly fell to the stack of books. 

“I know it’s a lot,” Albus said defensively. “I’m trying to trim it down some but they’re all very important, genre introducing works. You can’t truly experience muggle literature without trying out every genre. I have a Shakespearian tragedy and comedy, horror, romance, science fiction, realism, poetry- you really need to read them all to form an opinion or-“

“Albus,” Scorpius cut him off. “Give me the books.”

“All of them?” Albus questioned, unable to help himself from sounding both surprised and hopeful. 

“Yes.” Scorpius smiled a genuine smile, not a smirk, and Albus melted where he stood. “Thank you for doing this.” 

“Of course,” Albus said cheerfully. “I can’t imagine living my entire life without reading a John Keats poem.”

“You are truly enriching my life,” Scorpius said, the ubiquitous humor back in his voice. Albus smiled at this and continued to smile long after Scorpius left. He wondered which book the Malfoy boy would read first. He hoped Scorpius would start off with ‘Henry V’, but Albus was sure he was in for a delight no matter what. He briefly considered that this was all an elaborate prank and he would never get his books back again but chose to have faith in Scorpius, as no one else in his family ever had. 

 

Four days went by before Albus heard from Scorpius again. He’d seen him around Hogwarts and Scorpius had waved when he noticed Albus but they exchanged no words until the following Monday at breakfast. Once again Scorpius appeared in the seat across from Albus suddenly, with no warning.

“Hey, Scorpius. How’s th-”

“I finished them.” Scorpius said abruptly. 

“All of them? You finished all the books I gave you?” Albus questioned.

“Yes.”

“Well, what did you think?” Albus asked uncertainly.

“You were right about Shakespeare,” Scorpius told him.

“What do you mean?” 

“I’m much easier to read than his writing. His plays took me the longest. I would have finished way sooner but it felt like reading ancient runes,” Scorpius explained quickly. Albus let out a chuckle and Scorpius continued. “Keats was amazing, you were right about him too. I’m glad I didn’t die before reading ‘Ode to Apollo’.”

“Do you even know who Apollo is?” Albus asked sounding bemused.

“I assumed he was Keats’s lover or something,” Scorpius said plainly. Albus laughed at this but his companion moved on. “Most of the poetry in the book you gave me was so structured and ridged, but this one was messy and all over the place and I felt like that in itself was sort of poetic.”

“I feel the same way,” Albus told him happily. “Which book was your favorite, though?”

Scorpius considered this for a moment in deep silence. He stared at the books he had sprawled out in front go him and shifted his eyes between them. There was a debate happening behind his eyes that Albus himself had partaken in many times.

“This one,” Scorpius said, pointing to Jane Austin’s Pride and Prejudice.

“Really?” Albus asked. He did little to suppress his surprise.

“Yes, I found myself deeply invested in a love story, okay?” Scorpius said in mock defense. 

“I have more Jane Austin,” Albus told him excitedly. 

“You’re not going to make fun of me?” Scorpius asked, sounding stunned. 

“Why would I make fun of you? I love Pride and Prejudice too. That’s why I let you borrow it,” Albus stated. He gave Scorpius a curious glance but realized suddenly that his friends must be the type to mock his choice in novels. He watched as Scorpius gave him a small smile and the he continued on in a rapid discussion about whether tragedy or comedy was a better play genre. Scorpius then proceeded to freak out when Albus told him that there were Shakespeare plays that belonged to both of those categories. They talked like this all through breakfast and on their walk to potions. Albus expected the conversation to stop when they arrived but Scorpius abandoned his usual seat and took up residence in the one next to him. 

They stopped talking about novels during class but worked together as potions partners, which was something Albus only believed would only happen in his most wild fantasies. Scorpius didn’t sit next to him in any other class but turned and made faces at him every so often throughout the day. Albus spent all day wondering if he was dreaming and only stopped his speculation when Rose confronted him in the hall before dinner. 

“I heard you and Scorpius were potions partners today,” Rose said as if he’d committed a crime.

“Yeah, we were,” Albus responded.

“You’re just doing this to make me mad, aren’t you?” Rose questioned. She stood in front of Albus blocking his walk way, arms crossed and a huge frown on her face.

“You got me,” Albus said sarcastically.

“So what, you guys are friends now?” She asked.

“I let him borrow some books. He liked them. We talked.” 

“What books?” Rose demanded.

“You want a complete list?”

“Albus, this is serious,” Rose said.

“I’m serious. I’ll have Scorpius write you up eleven different book reports as well,” Albus told Rose as he tried to maneuver his way around her. She moved to block his path.

“You let him borrow eleven books?” 

“Yes,” Albus replied. 

“That’s a lot,” Rose told him.

“It is,” Albus agreed.

“Will you stop messing around and tell me what’s going on?” Rose asked again. She sounded desperate and worried and totally crazy.

“I told you. He just read some of my books and we talked about them. End of story. Tell everyone they can calm down.” 

“Fine,” Rose huffed. She seemed unwilling to drop the subject but complied after a stern look. “Are you coming to the Quidditch game tomorrow?”

“The Quidditch game?” Albus asked stupidly. 

“The Gryffindor/Hufflepuff match?” Rose said as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. Albus supposed it actually was, but still. She didn’t have to be so rude about it. 

“I don’t know. I have homework to catch up on.”

“Albus, three of your family members are playing. You have to go,” Rose implored.

“There are three of us playing on one team now? Hello nepotism,” Albus joked. Rose gave him a stern look in response and he shrugged his shoulders. “All right, I’ll try and make it.” 

Rose gave Albus a hug and finally allowed him to walk past her, but not before whispering, “I nag because I care” in his ear. 

 

Albus took his usual seat in the dining hall and watched as invisible hands served him an assortment of food. He didn’t pay too close attention to the mashed potatoes piling up on his plate, however, and chose to instead watch Scorpius enter the Great Hall and take his usual seat between Aiden and Simon. Albus sighed. He didn’t expect Scorpius to start sitting next to him every day but a guy can hope. Instead, he pulled his copy of Pride and Prejudice and started reading it over as he ate his dinner. Due to the captivating nature of Jane Austin’s writing Albus was too distracted to notice Scorpius get up and walk towards him. He stood in front of Albus and placed both hands on the table.

“Hey, Al,” Scorpius said suddenly, causing Albus to jump in his chair. He looked up, surprised to see that it was Scorpius using his shortened name. Generally only members of his family called him ‘Al’.  
“I’m leaving the Great Hall now and I just didn’t want you to miss your opportunity to stare at me as I walk out.” He didn’t give Albus a chance to respond before turning and striding out of the room. 

Albus chuckled to himself about Scorpius’ cool attitude. He was so different from that morning when he excitedly described his favorite parts of each of the books Albus had lent him in detail. He wasn’t surprised to discover there were more layers to Scorpius Malfoy then he let on but it was still jarring to know that somewhere inside of him lived a romance-novel crazy dork. Albus smiled happily at the thought. 

 

Scorpius sat with Albus at breakfast again the next day. He’d brought him a few more Jane Austin novels to read which Scorpius was excited about. They talked mainly about the Quidditch game that night, though Quidditch was not a subject Albus cared to divulge into. Still, he would listen to Scorpius talk about anything. At the end of their breakfast Scorpius asked him if he was going to attend the match. 

“I don’t care much for Quidditch, if we’re being honest,” Albus admitted. 

“You just let me ramble on about it for twenty minutes,” Scorpius said incredulously. 

“You seemed excited about it. I didn’t want to kill your buzz,” Albus explained. Scorpius shook his head and smiled before continuing.

“Isn’t your entire family on the Gryffindor Quidditch team, though?” 

“Not my entire family,” Albus said. “Just my brother and two of my cousins, which honestly doesn’t seem right to me. I’m considering boycotting it on principle alone.”

“You’re really not going?” Scorpius questioned again, this time sounding slightly more serious. 

“I don’t know,” Albus confessed. “I told my cousin Rose I’d think about it but its cold and I’ve got homework.”

“I’ll keep you warm,” Scorpius jested with a wink. Albus tried to laugh it off but could not suppress the shiver that ran down his spine at the thought. “Seriously, though, if you go I’ll sit next to you and we can make fun of your brother together.” 

 

“You sure know how to worm your way into a guy’s heart,” Albus half-joked. “Give me the day to think about it, all right?”

“I give you the day,” Scorpius resigned.

Albus once again watched as he walked out of the Great Hall. This time, Scorpius looked behind him at the last second just to check that he was watching. When he met Albus’ eyes he smirked and walked off toward his first class. Albus rolled his eyes at the boy but could feel his face flush automatically. If he was going to have a longstanding friendship with Scorpius Malfoy he had to get his blushing under control. 

The Quidditch match was all anyone could talk about throughout the day. Even teachers hounded on about the game. This was one of the closest seasons in Quidditch history at Hogwarts and everyone was eager to see who would win the Quidditch Cup. All through classes Albus overheard people saying things like, “it could be anyone’s game” which reminded him of why he truly hated Quidditch. By the end of the day Albus wanted to scream, but he kept it to himself and when he saw Scorpius at dinner with his wicked grin and twinkling grey eyes he, for some reason, agreed to go. It was the first Quidditch game Albus had attended all season which shocked Scorpius and offended him to his core.

“You didn’t come to any of Slytherin’s matches?” He questioned.

“No, I’m sorry, I didn’t,” Albus confessed yet again.

“Not even to stare at me?”

“It’s hard to stare at you when you’re flying around on a broom trying to catch a tiny flying ball,” Albus said mockingly. 

“I can’t believe this. I’m forcing you to come to every game next year,” Scorpius stated. 

“Every game?” Albus couldn’t mask the dread in his voice.

“At least the ones I’m playing in,” Scorpius demanded. “I’ll even point and wink at you when I catch the snitch.” 

“Every time?” Albus asked.

“Every single time, I promise.” 

“All right, I’ll consider it,” Albus told him as they found seats in the Slytherin section of the bleachers. They walked up and down the stairs searching for the perfect place to sit before Scorpius spotted somewhere he deemed acceptable. 

“The key to fully enjoying a Quidditch match is the seating,” Scorpius told him.

“Is that right? Maybe that’s what I’ve been missing all these years,” Albus said sarcastically.

“I just don’t understand how you can hate Quidditch. Didn’t your mother play professionally?”

“And you don’t know why I’d hate it?” Albus retorted.

“It’s fun,” Scorpius insisted.

Albus didn’t respond and instead pulled out his book and began reading. Scorpius scoffed and rolled his eyes but didn’t say anything, not even when the match started. Every so often he would lean over and tell Albus about a particularly stimulating play, but for the most part he left Albus alone with his book. They were thirty-five minutes into the game and no one had so much as seen the snitch. Albus set his book down and listened as Scorpius complained.

“How is it taking them so long to find the damn snitch?”

“It’s kind of cloudy out,” Albus suggested. “Makes it hard to see.” 

“I’ve found the snitch before in rain faster than this.” Scorpius told him. Albus rolled his eyes.

“Well, let’s keep on the look out and see if we can alert the Hufflepuff seeker when we find it.” Scorpius smiled at him and immediately focused all of his attention on the Quidditch pitch. Albus did the same, mainly for a laugh. They stared in silence for about six more minutes before Albus spotted it in the Far East corner of the field. 

“It’s right there,” Albus said, pointing it out to Scorpius, who squinted and followed the point of Albus’ finger.

“You’re right,” Scorpius responded after several moments. 

“I know I’m right,” Albus countered. “I’ve been trained like a dog to find in snitch since I was two.”

“That’s why you’re so good at staring,” Scorpius joked.

“We have to signal to Jordan somehow so this game doesn’t last any longer,” Albus said quickly and Scorpius laughed. 

“Jordan!” Scorpius yelled, causing everyone in a twenty foot radius to glance in the pair’s direction. Unfortunately it didn’t get Jordan’s attention, so Scorpius had to yell again. This failed him several times before he was yelling so loud that nearly the entire Quidditch pitch was staring at him. He didn’t seem to care though, as he stood up and pointed desperately at the location of the snitch. Jordan noticed it before Micah, the Gryffindor seeker, but just barely. They raced madly toward it and Scorpius, Albus, and the entire stadium watched in anticipation. At the last second, the snitch flew directly into Jordan’s hands just before Micah could grab it. 

“If Gryffindor had caught that snitch they would have beat us!” Scorpius exclaimed, shaking Albus by the shoulders. He was certain that this was the first time they had touched and his skin began to burn where Scorpius’ hands were. Albus could barely muster the energy to jump and yell with Scorpius as the announcer yelled, “Slytherin just won the Quidditch cup!” over and over. The excitement in the crowd was unbelievable but nothing compared to the excitement in the Slytherin common room when Albus returned for the night. He’s lost Scorpius in the excitement on the Quidditch pitch, so he ended up walking aback to the common room alone. 

There was a full-fledged party in motion as people cheered, danced, and drank their way into oblivion. Scorpius, of course, was the life of the party. Not only did he lead the Slytherin Quidditch team to victory on the pitch, but he helped them succeed off the pitch as well. Their fellow classmate reviled him as a hero. Albus watched from a corner as everyone in the room tried speaking to him at once. It took several minutes for the commotion to die down before someone finally got out an audible question.

“How did you spot the snitch from the bleachers, Scorpius? That’s incredible!” There was a chorus of “Yeah, how?” and cheers before Scorpius managed to answer.

“I didn’t actually spot it myself,” Scorpius admitted. Everyone in the room looked shocked, especially Albus, who fully expected the boy to take credit for his find.

“Then who saw it?” another voice chimed in.

“It was Albus,” Scorpius said, gesturing in his direction. 

“Albus Potter?” A few people shouted out in confusion.

“Yeah, he’s got a knack for this sort of thing. It’s a shame he doesn’t play,” Scorpius explained. He walked over to Albus and clapped him on the shoulder. Everyone cheered for him and raised their glasses. 

A tall seventh year yelled, “To Albus!” and the chorus of Slytherins responded, “To Albus!” 

Albus didn’t want the attention and almost wished Scorpius hadn’t told anyone until he looked up and saw the way Scorpius was smiling at him, his hand still heavy on his shoulder. Albus thought he might faint and when someone offered him a shot he didn’t hesitate. He’d never drank before and when he swallowed the firewhisky it tasted like death, but he ignored the burning in his thought because his nerves almost immediately began to calm. 

“I like this!” Albus shouted to Scorpius, holding up the empty shot glass. He laughed and reached to hand Albus another shot and grabbed one for himself as well.

“To Shakespeare,” Scorpius said pointedly.

“To Shakespeare!” Albus responded quite loudly. Soon everyone in the room was toasting Shakespeare, though only a small fraction of them knew who the hell the guy was. 

The rest of the night was fuzzy, though Albus remembered dancing a lot and drinking even more. He woke up the next morning with a headache and immediately regretted his entire life. He opened his eyes and looked around reluctantly. One of his dorm mates whom he’d only spoken a handful of words to held out a cup of coffee for him.

“Here you go, Albus,” He said enthusiastically. 

“Thanks Charlie,” Albus said, slowly taking the coffee from his roommate’s hands. Albus took a moment to consider the implication behind this act. Was he popular now? Did people suddenly want to be his friend? The last thing on earth Albus ever wanted was to be the center of attention, but somehow he went from nobody to hero in one day. He rolled out of bed feeling mortified and immediately thought he was going to throw up.

Albus stumbled down the stairs and found Scorpius waiting for him with a second cup of coffee. Albus thanked up and took the cup without hesitation this time. He downed it even quicker than the first. He didn’t even like coffee. 

“I’m going to throw up,” Albus stated.

“Again?” Scorpius questioned, sounding bemused. 

“What do you mean ‘again’?” 

“You threw up like four times last night,” Scorpius told him.

“I did?” Albus asked.

“Yeah, right after you sang a very unique rendition of the Weird Sister’s ‘Do the Hippogriff’. It was absolutely breathtaking, by the way. Watching you throw up for an hour in the bathroom, not so breathtaking.”

“I’m horrified,” Albus said, hiding his head in his hands. “Why did you let me do that?” 

“I was too drunk to stop you but not too drunk to forget about it,” Scorpius explained.

“Why couldn’t you have been drunker?” Albus pleaded.

“If I’d been drunker, who knows what would have happened between us?”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Albus asked, suddenly terrified. 

“With your staring and my endless flirting, I just feel like if we were both black out drunk we’d have ended up in bed together,” Scorpius said, matter-of-factly. Albus laughed timidly, though he couldn’t tell if Scorpius was kidding or not. He decided to brush it off, maybe save the conversation for a day he was less hungover. 

“Thank you for looking out for me,” Albus said. “Not thank you for suddenly making me the most popular guy in my dorm.” 

“You don’t like the attention?” Scorpius asked innocently.

“There’s nothing I hate more,” Albus admitted curtly. 

The pair walked to breakfast together and the smell of food immediately sent Albus running for the nearest bathroom. Once again, Scorpius watched as he threw up and he laughed.

“You sure know how to hold your liquor,” Scorpius mocked.

“I had never drank before,” Albus told him.

“It shows,” Scorpius replied patting him on the back. “Get up. Let’s get some toast in you or something.”

“Scorpius,” Albus said pointedly, “I don’t think I can go back in there.” 

“I’ll bring you out another cup of coffee and some toast, yeah?” Scorpius suggested as they walked back toward the Great Hall. 

“Sounds good,” Albus agreed. “I’ll stand right here and wait.” 

Scorpius arrived promptly carrying two cups of coffee and an entire plate of toast. He smiled at Albus as he made his way toward him, struggling the entire time to carry all three dishes at once. Albus rushed over to meet him.

“I don’t need all of this,” Albus insisted.

“Some of it’s for me,” Scorpius explained. “I’m going to eat in this hallway with you.”

“You don’t have to do that.”

“No friend of mine sits in a hallway and eats all by themselves,” Scorpius said confidently. 

“Thanks, Scorpius,” Albus said quietly. The pair ate their meal in the hallway and joked around about the previous night.

 

Over the next month Albus and Scorpius grew closer. They fell into a steady routine of walking to breakfast together, eating together, and going to class together. Ever since that first day Scorpius permanently became Albus’ potions partner, which worked out well for both of them as Albus was the best potions student in school and Scorpius was the only person Albus ever wanted to be around. In addition to breakfast and potions, the pair also studied together every night. The O.W.L.S were slowly approaching and they wanted to be prepared. In their spare time they raved about muggle books. Scorpius had read enough to participate in lively debates with Albus about Romanticism vs. Enlightenment and whether the subtle nuances of Earnest Hemmingway’s writing was tired or refreshing. All the while, one by one, every single member of Albus’ family at Hogwarts, sans James and Lily, approached him and questioned him about the ‘Scorpius Issue’. He assumed his siblings were waiting for the right time to pounce, which would most likely be during their Easter holiday at home. James hadn’t spoken to him since the Hufflepuff/Gryffindor Quidditch match, thought Albus often caught his brother tossing dirty looks in his direction. Scorpius made all their badgering worth it, though. Albus thought that his crush on Scorpius would ware off once they spent more time together but he got the exact opposite result. Scorpius Malfoy now dominated 90% of his conscious thoughts and 99% of his unconscious thoughts. Even with all the time the pair had been spending together, Albus craved more. He was certain that, given the opportunity, he would gladly sew him and Scorpius together. It was unclear if Scorpius felt similarly toward him. They participated in light flirting, but that seemed to be the standard with Scorpius. Albus never brought up the comment Scorpius made about them ending up in bed together, but he fully convinced himself it was just a dirty joke. Albus’ popularity had also died down, thankfully. More people wave at him in the hallway and he’s on friendlier terms with his roommates, but that’s the extent of the recoil from Quidditch Cup night. Albus’s life had completely changed since befriending Scorpius Malfoy and he was eager to report his findings to his parents.

“What are you doing for Easter Holidays?” Scorpius asked innocently.

“Probably being lectured and/or ostracized by every single one of my relatives,” Albus said grimly. “What are you doing?” 

“I’m staying here, I suppose,” Scorpius told him.

“You’re lucky,” Albus said simply. 

“I don’t feel lucky,” Scorpius complained.

“What? You actually want to see your family?” Albus asked. He’d stay here in a heartbeat if he thought for a second he’d get away with it.

“It’s not so much that I want to see my family as it is I want to get the hell out of here,” Scorpius explained gesturing around to their common room. 

“Well, you could go stay at my house and I could stay here,” Albus joked. “Then you can get twenty lectures on how the company you keep reflects your character and I can stay here and eat the Easter feast the houseelves prepare.”

“Stop kidding around, Al. This is serious,” Scorpius reprimanded him. 

“I was unaware the word ‘serious’ existed in your vocabulary.” 

“I can be very serious!” Scorpius insisted. 

“This’ll be a first,” Albus said. They smiled at each other for a moment and let out uncontainable laughter. Albus watch as Scorpius’ whole body shook and admired the way he looked at his happiest. 

“Why can’t you go home for Easter holidays anyway?” Albus asked after their giggles died down.

Scorpius paused for a second, as if unsure what to say. Eventually he spoke up. “My parents are going through something right now. They’d rather I just stay here.”

“That doesn’t seem right,” Albus said. “Your parents can’t just tell you not to come home!”

 

“My parents are different from yours, Al,” Scorpius told him firmly. “They’ve got more to worry about than whether or not their son is miserable.” 

Albus sat quietly, considering Scorpius’s words. He couldn’t understand his friend’s parent’s logic. Albus had just started to know Scorpius a month ago and already he would put the boys happiness above anything, even his own. 

“Maybe it won’t be so bad,” Albus suggested after a while. “Are any of your other friends staying over Easter?” He questioned. 

“I don’t know,” Scorpius admitted. “I don’t care, really. You’re the only one that’s any fun to be around.” Albus’ face flushed and he was certain he just soared out of his seat and hit his head on the ceiling. He rubbed the top of his head, as if he could feel a bump already starting to rise. 

“You need to get this obsession with me under control, Score,” Albus jested, flicking his friend on the forehead. 

“I like being obsessed with you, Al. It’s a nice change from being obsessed with me,” Scorpius bantered back.

“Well, if it’s saving you from a lifetime of self-involvement, I guess I don’t mind. Pine away,” Albus told him with a giant grin. 

“Believe me, I’m pining,” Scorpius told him coolly. He stumped Albus, who stared at him in confusion for just a second too long. He hated and loved when Scorpius said things like that. It was impossible to tell if he was being serious or not and the guy had zero tells. 

“Good,” Albus managed to say, ruining their previous repartee. Scorpius laughed at this response and shook his head. 

“You’re unbelievable,” Scorpius told him before turning his attention back on their study material. Scorpius described Albus as ‘unbelievable’ often and he never knew how to take it. He hoped Scorpius meant in affectionately, but sometime Albus worried it was meant as an insult. As if Scorpius was bewildered into a state of disbelief at how inept he was. In order to calm his insecurities Albus reminded himself of Scorpius’s previous comment about how he is the only fun person to be around and his head swelled up again. 

 

The two weeks that lead up to Easter were grueling ones. As end of the O.W.L.S approached the professors began piling up homework. Albus and Scorpius spent hours each night doing their homework together, which left them little time for anything fun. Scorpius remand depressed over his impending week alone at Hogwarts and Albus could do little to cheer him up, especially with such scarce opportuinity for conversation not relating to magic studies. It wasn’t until the night before Easter break that either of them had an opportunity for relaxation. The two of them sat in Albus’ dorm room, no books in sight, and discussed how they never wanted to discuss school work again. 

“I think I’ve memorized my entire History of Magic text book,” Scorpius complained as he rubbed his skull. “I know the entire history of magic!” He exclaimed, his mouth gapped and his eyes wide. “No one should know the entire history of anything.” 

“I think I’ve developed a twitch in my right eye,” Albus quipped. “Do you see it?”

Scorpius studied Albus’s for a moment. “Oh yeah, that’s always been there.” 

“It has not!” Albus huffed. 

“You’re vaguely twitchy, though,” Scorpius told him. “It’s endearing.” 

“I’m glad you’re able to see the bright side behind my nervous ticks,” Albus moaned. He rested down on his bed and let out a desperate sigh as Scorpius watched him with amusement.

 

“First of all,” Scorpius began, “I think you’ve just been drinking too much coffee.” He nodded toward the large empty cup that once held extra strong, black coffee. “Secondly, you seriously need to unwind.”

“I don’t know how I’m going to do that! The entirety of this supposed break is going to consist of my family endlessly nagging me. I’m going to come back more stressed out then I left,” Albus complained, covering his head with a pillow. 

“I hear particularly good sex can relax even the most tense of people,” Scorpius told him with his usual air of humor. 

“By all means, Score, please go out and find me a suitor.”

“Male or Female?” Scorpius asked, only half kidding.

“I’m joking, Scorpius. Don’t you dare,” Albus warned, shooting up in bed. “I think I just need more coffee.” He said, reaching for the empty cup.

“You need the opposite of more coffee, Al. You need about thirty hours of sleep.”

“Maybe you’re right,” Albus admitted. He stared longingly at his bed and then longingly back at Scorpius. He was going to have to forsake time with one of them. 

“I’m leaving,” Scorpius said suddenly. “Take good care of him,” Scorpius said, patting the bed light. “Be gentle. I think this may be his first time.”

“It’s not my first time sleeping,” Albus stated. “You don’t have to go,” he added as an afterthought. 

“As much as I’d love to sit here and watch you sleep,” Scorpius said earnestly, “I have my own bed down the hall and it’s calling my name.”


	3. Home for the Holidays

The following morning involved a lot of last minute packing. Albus was a very disorganized person and by the time he collected all of his things and hurried out of the castle the final carriage taking students to the train station was about to leave. He hurried after it, calling for it to stop. Luckily he caught it just in time, though when he reached the door he noticed his older brother and a few of his friends sitting in it. When they made eye contact the temperature dropped several degrees. 

“James,” Albus said while climbing into the carriage. “Hey.” His older brother said nothing in response. Instead, he turned to his friends and began conversation. Albus managed to tune him out, though they were in quite closed corners. 

“You know you can get the houseelves to make you anything if you go into the kitchen at night?” James asked the carriage, minus Albus, who he assumed was not being addressed. 

“I thought that was just a rumor,” His friend Judah said skeptically. 

“No, I swear- I went in there last week at like midnight and they made me an entire treacle tart!” James claimed earnestly. Albus rolled his eyes dramatically. 

“Do you think they’d give you firewhiskey?” pipped another one of James’s cronies. 

“That’d be fantastic,” Augustus Schwartz stated. “I’m nearly out of my supply.” 

“Augustus, you’re eighteen now,” A red haired girl reminded him. “You can just go out and buy more.” Everyone in the carriage laughed at this except Augustus, who clearly hadn’t had that realization before.

The chatting continued throughout the short ride to the train station. Everyone did a fantastic job of pretending Albus didn’t exist, which did little to bother him. He stared into the distance and tried to will himself somewhere else. When they arrived at their destination Albus was the first person up and out of his seat. The train was already relatively full but he was able to secure an empty compartment in the back. He was sure that Rose would start to wonder where he was and come to look for him at some point, but he relished his few moments of solidarity. Sure enough, about ten minutes after the train began to move there was a knock on the door to his compartment. Albus looked up and was surprised to see Lily looking at him instead of Rose. He quickly stood and allowed her access to the room. 

“Hey, Lil,” Albus greeted her. “What’s up?”

“How have you been?” She asked him suddenly, taking the seat across from him. Lily looked strikingly like their mother and her worried eyes caused a pang of guilt in the pit of his stomach. She was only thirteen and Albus suddenly realized he’d been doing a very poor job of looking out for her that year. He had absolutely no idea what was going on in her life.

“I’ve been well, Lil,” Albus assured her. He offered her a kind smile for further confirmation. 

“James is really mad at you,” Lily told him solemnly. 

“Yeah, I know,” Albus admitted. “We haven’t been talking.”

“Everyone’s kind of mad at you,” Lily continued.

“Are you mad at me?” Albus asked, sounding intrigued. He looked at his sister sincerely, his green eyes begging for the truth. 

“No,” She said, shaking her head. “I just want you to be happy.”

“I am happy,” Albus confided. “I’m really happy.” 

“Rose thinks Scorpius is a bad influence on you,” Lily explained. “Do you think that?”

Albus considered the question for a moment. He’d gotten drunk for the first time because of Scorpius and his sarcasm had definitely improved since they began spending time together. Albus had also been spending less time with his family, with Rose, which was probably why she thought that. Albus didn’t know what he thought.

“I’m not sure,” He said honestly. “I think that’s something I should find out for myself, though.” 

“Will you introduce me to him?” Lily asked suddenly, her tone shifting slightly. Albus felt slightly nervous at the thought of his sister and Scorpius meeting. While he knew his friend to be more kind than he appeared, many people found Scorpius to be rather offensive upon first meeting. Still, it seemed important to her.

“Sure, Lil,” Albus said. “As soon as we get back.” Lily smiled widely at Albus, her blue eyes twinkling with delight. She moved to the seat next to him and gave him a sideways hug. 

“You should make up with James,” Lily recommended.

“James and I have been fighting for ten years,” Albus reminded her. “I don’t think making up is possible.”

“This is different and you know it,” Lily insisted. “You went after his livelihood.” 

“What are you talking about?” Albus asked.

“You’re the reason Gryffindor lost the house cup.” Lily reminded him. “Everyone knows about what you and Scorpius did.” 

“Everyone on that field had equal opportunity to find that snitch,” Albus said confidently. “It’s not like Scorpius privately whispered it’s location to the Hufflepuff seeker. He shouted it!” 

“It’s not that,” Lily clarified. “You guys switched out the snitch.” 

“What?” Albus asked, stunned. “No we didn’t.”

“Everyone knows about it, Al. Come on,” Lily said.

“Lily, I honestly have no idea what you’re talking about.”

“You didn’t have a hand in it?” Lily asked, genuinely surprised. “Didn’t you spot the snitch, though?

“Yeah, but that’s the only roll I played in this scandal everyone seems to have made up.”

“People think you and Scorpius switched out the snitch for one that could be magically influenced,” Lily explained.

“Why would we do that?” Albus asked incredulously. “I don’t even like Quidditch.”

“But Scorpius does,” Lily reminded. “I’m sure he really wanted to win.”

“He did, but he wouldn’t cheat!” Albus said confidently. “He might interfere with practice schedules, but he’d never do something so obviously wrong.”

“The Slytherin team does things like this all the time,” Lily told him. “They’re good at it.” 

“That’s not fair,” Albus dictated. “I’m sure the other teams have cheated too.”

“Not as often as the Slytherin team.”

“Even if someone did replace the snitch, it wasn’t Scorpius.” Albus maintained. 

“Someone definitely replaced the snitch,” Lily vowed. 

“If someone did that, wouldn’t the Quidditch cup be taken away from Slytherin?” Albus questioned defensively. 

“Gryffindor can’t prove that it happened,” Lily explained.

“There’s no proof? Wow, Lils, you’ve convinced me,” Albus said sarcastically. 

“Micah insists that the snitch flew right out of his grasp and directly into Jordan’s,” Lily told him.

“That’s not weird behavior for a snitch,” Albus asserted. 

“It was weird,” Lily said. “Even Jordan thought so. She has no idea how it wound up in her hand.” 

“It was a fluke,” Albus declared.

“It was being controlled,” Lily said. 

“The teachers would have noticed if the snitch were switched out after she caught it!” 

“It was switched back right after the game,” Lily claimed. “No one’s sure how, but it was.” 

He rolled his eyes. Honestly, it was believable the Slytherin team would cheat to win the Quidditch Cup. If he didn’t know Scorpius so well, it even would have been believable that he would switch out the snitch. Albus was at the game, though. He sat there with Scorpius and watched the match. They searched for the snitch together. If his friend was controlling it, they wouldn’t have needed to look for it. It was just as believable that James, his stubborn, prideful brother, made up a story to save face, and it caught on.

“I’ll ask Scorpius about it,” Albus said eventually. “I know he didn’t do it, but if it’ll make you drop the subject, I’ll ask.” 

“I hope you’re right,” Lily said. After a while she added, “I’m glad you didn’t cheat. I would have understood if you did, though.”

“I don’t care enough about Quidditch to cheat,” Albus said honestly.

“Yeah, but it’d be a surefire way to get Scorpius to like you,” Lily remarked.

“I don’t need to rig a Quidditch game to make friends, Lil,” Albus snapped, sounding slight troubled. 

“I didn’t mean it like that,” Lily said quickly. “It’s just obvious that you’d do anything for him.”

Albus didn’t know how to respond. He had hardly spoken to Lily for weeks and still she had him figured out completely. He didn’t want to admit to her that she was right, though, so he said nothing. 

“I’m going to try and convince the entirety of the Gryffindor house that you’re innocent,” Lily declared after a while. She stood up and marched out the compartment. She threw him a warm smile before closing the door and Albus let out a long sigh. 

He spent the remainder of the train ride thinking about Scorpius. Albus couldn’t help but question if he truly knew the boy as well as he thought. Scorpius wasn’t perfect by any means. The Malfoy boy loved to bend rules and was delighted by the mere notion of causing trouble, but Albus couldn’t imagine his friend fixing the most important Quidditch game of the season. Even if Scorpius had done it, wouldn’t he have let Albus in on the secret? Still, they were Slytherins. They’d both done somewhat questionable things in their lifetimes, Albus was sure. Eventually, Albus decided he would confront Scorpius about it after break. It would be hard to relax if he didn’t uncover the truth. 

 

The train pulled into the station a little after sun down. Albus was one of the last people off the train and when he stepped onto the platform his brother and sister had already convened around their parents. He walked slowly over to the group, lugging his trunk behind him. His mother and father noticed him almost immediately and waved in his direction happily, though he could already recognize the slight look of concern in their eyes.

“Hey mom, hey dad,” Albus said as he stepped up to them. His father immediately clapped him on the back and his mother pulled him in for a hug.

“It’s so nice to see you, Albus,” His mother said, still holding onto him tightly.

“Mom, I can’t breathe,” He said teasingly. She pulled back immediately and looked him over.

“You’ve been eating, right?” She asked.

“Yes mom, I’ve been eating,” He assured her. “Three square meals a day, I promise” 

“Good,” She stated. “You just look so much smaller than your brother and sister.”

“Hey!” Lily pipped up. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

“I’m just kidding, Lily,” Their mother said affectionately. “You all look perfect.”

Albus noticed James standing stiffly and quietly, as far away from him as possible. Surely Lily had already talked to him about the Quidditch match, but he was definitely still bitter. The rest of the family seemed to pick up on this as well.

“Is there something wrong, James?” Their father asked.

“Can we just go?” James complained, avoiding eye contact with everyone in his family. He turned and began to walk away before anyone answered. 

His parents shrugged at one another and followed their oldest son toward to exit. Albus and Lily hung behind for a second. He looked at his sister with confusion and she gave him a sympathetic pat on the back before pulling him forward. They trailed their parents until arriving at the Potter family car, which James was already sitting in. 

“What’s wrong with him?” Their father asked, pulling his two youngest children aside.

“He’s mad at Albus,” Lily explained. 

“What else is new,” Their mother quipped. 

“Is this about the game thing?” Their father interjected. Albus looked at him in surprise. 

“Apparently everyone knew about my rigging a Quidditch game but me,” Albus said bitterly. 

“Oh, quiet Albus. We know you’d never do anything like that,” Their mother insisted. “If James had any sense at all, he’d know that too.” She added a little louder. Albus noticed his father staring down at his feet. Lily and James weren’t the only members of his family to suspect him of ill will apparently. 

“We should go,” Albus suggested, gesturing for Lily to enter the car before him.

“You’re right,” his mother agreed. “Let’s continue this conversation at home.” Everyone sighed. 

Lily filled the car with noise as she chatted endlessly about her time at Hogwarts. Albus was thankful that his sister never seemed to run out of things to say. The car ride still managed to feel tense and awkward, even with Lily’s desperate attempt to cover it up. Their parents continuously shared wary glances. When they finally pulled into their driveway Albus wanted to kiss the pavement. He jumped out of the car and breathed in non-hostile air for the first time in twenty minutes. 

Albus spent a decent portion of the evening getting settled into his room. He didn’t unpack his clothes or toiletries, but he spent a considerable amount of time organizing the books he brought back. Books were the only thing in Albus’s life that he thought required order. In less than an hour Albus had picked out an entire trunk full of new books to bring back to Hogwarts, which he was certain would thrill Scorpius. He briefly considered sending his friend a letter about it, but decided against it. Albus rolled the trunk under his bed and settled down with a book when his mother called him down for dinner. 

No one in history had ever walked down a single staircase slower than Albus did that night. Family dinners required family conversations and Albus had been dreading this particular conversation for weeks. By the time he arrived at the table everyone’s plates were full and everyone but James looked at him expectantly.

“What took you so long?” His father questioned.

“Sorry,” Albus said. “I was unpacking.” He lied. Albus sat down at the table and began dishing peas onto his plate in an attempt to avoid eye contact with his family. 

“What’s new?” His mother asked. Though she was speaking to them all, Albus was the question was meant for specifically for him. Despite this, he remained silent.

“Well, you’ve already heard from me,” Lily said pointedly. “How about you, Albus?” 

He tried to kick her under the table but she anticipated it and moved out of the way. Instead, he just glared and took another bite of his roast.

“Not much,” Albus said slowly, staring down at his plate. James scoffed from across the table and everyone looked at him. 

“Something to add, James?” Their mother inquired. Everyone was quite for a minute as James looked up from his food and stared at the family in exasperation. 

“Are you guys honestly going to pretend like this isn’t happening?” James asked very seriously. 

“What’s happening, James?” Their mother asked. 

“Albus!” James said, gesturing across the table wildly. “I know Scorpius Malfoy! I’ve known him for years! He’s not a person anyone should associate themselves with, especially not a member of this family.” James took a deep breath and looked to everyone at the table unbelievably. Silence set in among them and Albus imagined himself somewhere far away.

“Anything to add, Albus?” His father asked after uncomfortably coughing into his hand.

“No, I think James pretty much covered everything,” Albus muttered to himself.

“Be serious, Albus,” His mother warned. “James is obviously upset.” 

“I don’t care,” Albus replied evenly.

“Albus!” His mother reproached. 

“James doesn’t get to dictate who I spend time with. No one does, but especially not James.” 

“What does that mean?” His mother asked.

“It means that I don’t care what James thinks about Scorpius. They’re on rivaling Quidditch teams; of course they don’t like each other,” Albus said coolly.

“We have our own concerns,” His father said suddenly. Albus rolled his eyes.

“Of course you do.”

“Scorpius comes from a-” His father paused for a moment to consider his wording. “A questionable family. His grandparents, hell his parents, they did some troubling things in the past.” 

“Right,” Albus sated plainly. “Anything else?”

“We just don’t want you falling in with the wrong crowd,” His mother warned. 

“You know what Scorpius and I do in our spare time, mother?” Albus asked. “We talk about books and study for our O.W.L.S. We don’t practice dark magic or collect Death Eater trading cards.”

“Death Eater trading cards?” Lily questioned.

“You know what I mean,” Albus said hurriedly. 

“It doesn’t bother you that he’s a cheater?” James interjected stiffly.

“He’s not,” Albus disputed. “I think you’re just a sore loser.” 

“You’d honestly take a Malfoy’s side over your own brother’s?” James questioned. He stared at Albus over the table and waited for an answer.

“Yes.” Albus admitted. “I would.” He got up and left the table abruptly. His mother called after him to come back, but Albus ignored her. When he got to his bedroom he slammed to door behind him and repeatedly banged his head against the wall. It took only five minutes for someone to come and knock on his door.

“Who is it?” Albus called out, unwilling to cease the head to wall contact he had initiated. 

“It’s me,” His father responded from the hallway.

“Come in.”

His father stepped into his already chaotic room and looked around. When he spotted Albus near the wall he looked at his son quizzically. Albus stepped back and took a seat at his desk. His father followed suit and sat across from him on his bed.

“You shouldn’t have said that to your brother,” His father told him.

“I meant it,” Albus grumbled. 

“I know you and James have never gotten along,” He started. Albus scoffed. “But he’s family and he loves you.” 

“I find that hard to believe,” Albus said quietly. He was looking down at his hands but could still feel his father’s gaze. He sighed loudly and lifted his head. “I didn’t mean to hurt his feelings,” he admitted. “I was just angry.”

“I know,” his father assured him. “He’s angry too. I think he feels sort of betrayed.”

“He shouldn’t,” Albus said. “I didn’t befriend Scorpius to get back at him or anything.” 

“Yeah, but you could have been friends with anyone and you chose the person he hates most in the world. I’m sure that stings a little,” His father replied. 

“I’m not going to stop hanging out with Scorpius,” Albus said defensively. 

“I didn’t ask you to.” 

“He’s not a bad guy,” Albus insisted. He couldn’t keep the look of desperation off his face. 

“I trust your judgment,” His father vowed. “Just be careful, okay?”

“We’ll be sure to avoid summoning Voldemort during one of our heated debates regarding the importance of the invention of the muggle printing press,” Albus mocked.

“Not funny,” His father warned. 

“Sorry,” Albus said bashfully. 

“Is that really what you guys talk about? The printing press?” He asked, bemused.

“It’s come up,” Albus admitted. 

“In all seriousness Al,” His father continued, “The Malfoy family did some deplorable things during the war. Things most people consider unforgivable.”

Albus shook his head. “I know dad. I’ve read all about it,” He insisted. “The Black family was full of dark wizards as well, but you’ve only ever spoken highly of your Godfather.” 

Harry looked stunned for a moment but began to laugh of the shock wore off. “I suppose you’re right, Albus.” 

 

The rest of Easter break went smoothly. He and James were still not speaking, which bothered their mother endlessly, but his parents seemed to have warmed up to the idea of their son spending time with a Malfoy. Every so often one of them would ask him a question about Scorpius in order to get a better idea of the young man. Albus spoke about his friend happily, doing very little to mask the affection in his voice. Even his extended family had relaxed. When they arrived at his grandparents for Easter dinner on Sunday everyone greeted him happily. Lily winked at him, which suggested that she had a hand in quelling the vicious rumors going around about him. Scorpius seemed to remain a sore subject for most of them, especially his uncle Ron, but hey, Rome wasn’t built in a day. The only person, other than James, who remained cold to him, was Rose. They’d barely seen each other since she cornered him outside of the Great Hall and Albus assumed she felt neglected. He figured he should apologize.

“Hey Rose,” He said, approaching her. They stood outside the Burrow watching the chickens that surrounded the house. She didn’t respond. 

“I know you’re pissed at me,” Albus stated, shuffling on his feet slightly. “I just wanted to tell you I’m sorry.”

“Sorry for what?” She snapped.

“I guess I kind of ditched you when Scorpius and I started talking,” Albus admitted. “That wasn’t right. I owe you more than that.”

“You do,” she agreed. There was a beat of silence before she add, “Is Scorpius like, you’re new best friend now, or what?” 

“I don’t know,” Albus said immediately. “No.” 

“You’re lying,” Rose said. 

“Rose, you’ve always been my best friend,” Albus assured her, though when he really thought about it he realized that Scorpius was, in fact, his new best friend.

“It sure hasn’t felt that way lately,” Rose complained. 

“I know,” Albus said. “It’s hard. I know you and Scorpius don’t get along.”

“You don’t have to spend every waking moment with him,” Rose criticized. 

“I suppose you’re right.” Albus looked away from her and blushed. He didn’t actually think she was right. He hadn’t seen his friend in a week and already he felt as if he were eroding away. Scorpius felt like his life-force. He couldn’t admit to that, though. 

“I’ve missed you,” Rose confessed. 

“I’ve missed you too,” Albus agreed. They hugged each other and Albus assumed that meant all was well between them. When Rose pulled away so looked at him very seriously and started hounding him about the O.W.L.s.

“Have you been studying?” She demanded.

“Scorpius and I studied every night before break,” Albus told her. 

“Does he make flashcard?” 

“No,” Albus said, confused. 

“Does he sleep with his text books under his pillow?”

“What?” Albus sputtered. “No, he doesn’t.”

“What about mnemonic devices? Does he have any?” 

“No, Rose. He has no mnemonic devices.” 

“He doesn’t study correctly,” She decided. “You need me.” Albus rolled his eyes at her but she ignored him. 

Rose spent the rest of the dinner teaching Albus the rhymes she made up to remember potions ingredients. He reminded her several times that he was a better potions student than her, but she couldn’t seem to hear him. Eventually he tuned her out and turned his thoughts to Scorpius. They were returning to Hogwarts the next day and Albus had done his best to avoid thinking about the boy all break for fear of longing for him. He was unable to hold himself back anymore, though, and found himself bouncing in his seat at the thought of seeing his friend.


	4. Closure

He and Rose sat together on the train back to Hogwarts. Rose had made him flashcards for every subject (even ones he did not take) that morning that she forced him to memorize them. By the time they arrived at Hogwarts Albus’s eye twitch had returned and he could recite every spell he’d ever learned, even the useless ones. He tried to voice his complaints to Rose but she brushed him off.

 

“You’ll think me when you get ‘O’s in every subject, Al.”

“How can I thank you if I’ve killed you?” Albus jibed, causing Rose to scoff indignantly. 

“I can’t believe we only have two months left to study,” Rose bemoaned. “There’s still so much I don’t know!” 

“How is that possible?” Albus questioned. “You started studying for your O.W.L.s when you were nine.” 

“I was stupid to wait until nine,” Rose said seriously. “My mother gave me my first O.W.L. preparation book when I was five. I should have started then.” Albus couldn’t stifle his laughter and Rose chastised him for not taking their exams more seriously. “This is no laughing matter, Albus. This test will determine our entire future.”

Albus didn’t respond and instead hurried off the train to get away from her. He rubbed his twitching eye with one hand and dragged his luggage with the other as Rose called out after him. When he stepped off the train he jumped into the nearest carriage and demanded it to move. Somehow, that worked and rode back to Hogwarts alone. He sighed in relief and didn’t dare look back at Rose. Instead, Albus looked forward at the castle and his heart swelled up just looking at the building. The ride was short and he appeared to be the first student to return. When he walked into the building he was startled by how silent it seemed. He wondered how many students stayed back for Easter holiday and suspected it was very few. Albus thought about Scorpius and how miserable he must have been all week and hurried to the Slytherin common room. The common room was empty, however, as was his bedroom. He walked down the hall to Scorpius’s dorm room and knocked on the door. After a few moments Albus deduced that there was no one in there and decided to check the Great Hall.

As he walked toward the front of the castle once more Albus began to see more and more people walking back to their common rooms. He scanned the crowds for Scorpius but had no luck. It was still too early for dinner so the Great Hall was empty as well. Albus considered for a moment where Scorpius might be and walked toward the library. Sure enough, he saw his friend sitting at a table reading over his Herbology textbook.

“Hey,” Albus said as he approached Scorpius. 

“Please tell me you’re here to kill me,” Scorpius begged earnestly. He wore a genuine smile which directed at Albus. His eyes were dead, though.

“How long have you been studying?” Albus inquired.

“What day is it?”

“Monday,” Albus responded.

“About thirteen years,” Scorpius said.

“You need a break,” Albus assessed. He reached out and closed the young man’s book. Scorpius looked up at him in suddenly, his eyes wide.

“You broke the spell,” he announced. “I’m free!” He got up and hugged Albus. “Thank you!” Albus’s entire body flushed against Scorpius’s body and his mind had to work overtime to keep his breathing even. 

“It’s good to have you back,” Scorpius told him after breaking the embrace. “I study better with a partner.” 

“Oh, believe me, after studying with Rose for one day I never want to see another flashcard again,” Albus told him, shaking his head. 

“Did she make you flashcards?” Scorpius asked enthusiastically. 

“Yeah, she did.” Albus said as he reached into his bag and pulled them out. “There are about a thousand of these.” 

Scorpius took a minute to flip through the flashcards and analyze them. Albus watched as his face changed from intrigue, to shock, to horror, and then to admiration. “I can’t believe she made all these.” 

“If you knew her better it wouldn’t surprise you,” Albus explained. 

“Why did she make you flashcards for Arithmancy? You don’t even take that class,” Scorpius questioned, a bright smile on his face.

“I have no idea. She also included a full set of Divination flashcards.” 

“She’s a little off her rocker, isn’t she?” Scorpius asked humorously. 

“I’ll say,” Albus agreed. “But spend a day with these babies and you’ll never have to study again in your lifetime.” 

“Are you giving these to me?” Scorpius asked, holding up the cards.

“Of course,” Albus affirmed. “I never want to look at them again.” 

“So you’re not going to help me study?” Scorpius asked with fear in his eyes. “You’ve got to help me.”

“Oh, I do?” Albus inquired. 

“Yes. I can’t do this this on my own.”

“You’re pathetic,” Albus said, shaking his head at the boy. “But since you asked so nicely I suppose I’ll help you.” 

“Thank you, Albus,” Scorpius expressed earnestly. 

Albus smiled to himself as Scorpius started in on the flashcards, chatting endlessly about how concerned he is for Rose’s sanity. In the excitement of seeing his friend again Albus had completely forgotten about the Quidditch game. 

 

Albus and Scorpius spent the passing weeks studying harder than ever. Albus thought occasionally about asking his friend about the supposed rigged Quidditch game, but as the O.W.L.s approached it seemed unimportant. Still, the thought danced around in the back of his head. He’d promised Lily he would ask Scorpius about it as soon as possible and he felt a pang of guilt every time he laid eyes on her. It wasn’t until the pair was discussing the strict supervision of the O.W.L.s that Albus felt inclined to ask.

“And how stupid is it that someone tries to cheat every single year?” Scorpius questioned, sounding bemused. 

“Really? Every year?” 

“Oh yeah, at least one person,” Scorpius told him. “No one ever gets away with it. It’s impossible.” 

“Why even try?” Albus asked.

“I guess they just don’t think they’re good enough on their own,” Scorpius said with a shrug. “This is not the test I would want to cheat on, though.” 

“Are there tests you would cheat on?” Albus inquired innocently.

“No, I don’t need to,” Scorpius explained. “I’m smarter than half the people who make the tests.”

“You’re confidence is astounding,” Albus said mockingly. There was a pregnant pause in the conversation as Albus debated how to bring up the unpleasant subject. 

“Would you cheat on anything else?” Albus asked.

“Are you asking if I’d ever cheat on you?” Scorpius teased. “Because the answer is no.”

“No,” Albus responded. “I was just wondering if you’ve ever cheated on say, a Qudditch game?” Scorpius’s expression shifted and he looked at Albus in surprise. He didn’t look offended, more impressed at he had the gall to ask. He smiled at Albus suddenly, which made the boy feel uneasy.

“Now, why would you ask that?” Scorpius questioned, a smile still plastered on his pale face.

“I’ve just heard some things,” Albus explained, his eyes shifting slightly from his feet to his wild looking companion. 

“Ah, you’ve heard some things,” Scorpius teased. 

“Don’t mess around, Score,” Albus begged. “I’m just wondering.”

“Yeah, I have,” Scorpius affirmed. 

“You have?” Albus was taken back by the ease of the response. 

“Yeah, a couple of times,” Scorpius said. He didn’t sound at all guilty about it. Instead, Albus had a feeling that Scorpius was eager to tell someone about it.

“A couple of times?” Albus asked. “So, you did rig the Gryffindor/Hufflepuff match? You switched out the snitch?”

“Switched out the snitch?” Scorpius questioned “No way, that’s kids’ stuff. I actually used magic on Jordan and Micah.”

“You used magic on them?” 

“Yeah, to make sure Micah didn’t catch the snitch,” Scorpius reaffirmed. 

“What spell? Like the Imperius curse?” Albus asked.

“What? No, Albus. Not like the Imperius curse,” Scorpius said sounding insulted. “I used a Confondus charm to confuse them both and then I used a memory charm on both of them right after the snitch was caught.” 

“I can’t believe you’d do something like that,” Albus said. 

“It’s not a big deal, Al.” Scorpius looked confused and taken aback by his friend’s reaction. He watched as Albus considered the information Scorpius just gave him. 

“It is a big deal,” Albus told him suddenly. “I defended you to my family!” 

“Maybe you shouldn’t have done that,” Scorpius said sourly. “You knew going into this that I wasn’t a good guy.”

“No, Scorpius, I didn’t know that,” Albus stated. “I thought you were better than this. I thought you were better than what everyone said.”

“Well, I guess I’m not. You can tell your family they were right about me, Albus.”

“I don’t want them to be right, Scorpius. You’re my best friend,” Albus told him, his eyes wide and sad. He stared at Scorpius desperately. 

“You’re my best friend too, Albus,” Scorpius reminded him. “That’s why I thought you’d expect this from me. I thought you knew me better.”

“I did too.” 

“Don’t be like that, Al,” Scorpius begged. “You still know me. I’m still the same person.”

“I told Lily that you didn’t do it,” Albus stated. “I was so sure you didn’t do it.”

“Well, I did, Albus. I cheated and I’d do it again,” Scorpius announced. 

The words hung in the air as the pair glared at one another. They were both silent for a long moment as they tried to cool off. They’d never fought before and Albus felt a heavy weight on his chest. He considered his next words very carefully when a thought popped into his head.

“Why did you ask me to search for the snitch?” Albus questioned. “Could you really not find it, or where you just playing with me?”

“I could have found it myself,” Scorpius admitted. 

“Is that why you begged me to go to the game? So you could use me? You just needed someone to take the heat off of you?” Albus barked out questions in quickly, his breathing heavy and his eyes wild. Scorpius didn’t answer for a long time.

“That’s why I first approached you, yeah,” Scorpius told him.

“Unbelievable,” Albus shouted.

“I wish things were different, Al, but at the time I had no idea how incredible you are,” Scorpius assured him. “I just knew how interested you were in me, and you’re a Potter- you’re related to half the team! I didn’t think anyone would suspect you of cheating so I-“

“So you took advantage of me to win a Qudditch cup.”

“I’m so sorry,” Scorpius told him. “I never meant for you to find out.”

“Well, that makes it so much better,” Albus responded sarcastically. 

“This doesn’t change how I feel about you,” Scorpius assured him. “If I had known you I never would have-“ 

“Used me? Yeah, imagine that,” Albus cut in. He gathered up his books and stormed away from Scorpius without a second glance, ignoring him as he called out after him. 

 

Scorpius spent the following week desperately trying to get Albus to speak to him and Albus spent the following week ignoring him. They worked separately during potions, much to Scorpius’s objection. Albus wouldn’t so much as look at Scorpius, still seething with anger. The O.W.L.s were only two weeks away and Albus couldn’t focus long enough to study. Every place he went, Scorpius was already waiting for him. Albus had to completely avoid the library and began spending a surprising amount of time in the Gryffindor common room, as it was one of the few places Scorpius couldn’t get into. Rose and Lily both bugged him endlessly about the situation between he and Scorpius, but Albus refused to talk about it. He was unsure if he was protecting his friend or just unwilling to give them the satisfaction of knowing they were right about him. Along with this, Rose was studying harder than ever and bothering him endlessly. 

“Thank you for your help, Rose, but I can’t spend another second listening to you talk about Transfiguration,” Albus told Rose one evening while sitting in the Gryffindor common room. 

“Alright, we’ll move on to Charms,” Rose said as she pulled out another book. 

“No, please. No more,” Albus begged. 

“The O.W.L.s are in two weeks and you want to stop studying?” Rose sat in shock and Albus couldn’t help but laugh at her.

“It’s not funny, Albus. Don’t you care about your future?” 

“Yes, Rose, I care about my future. I’m just not in the mood to study,” Albus explained.

“Do you think I’m constantly in the mood to study?” Rose questioned.

“Yes, I do.” Albus said plainly.

“I’m not. No one is always in the mood to study,” Rose responded bitterly.

“You could have fooled me,” Albus said sarcastically.

“Don’t be snotty, Albus,” Rose told him. “You’re just grumpy because you and Scorpius aren’t talking.”

“Not this again,” Albus groaned. “I’m not grumpy.”

“You’ve been moping around here for a week, Albus. I’m your oldest friend, you can’t fool me.”

“Whatever, Rose, I already told you I don’t want to talk about it,” Albus snapped. Rose frowned at him but didn’t push the subject further. Instead, she began to read her Charms textbook aloud to him. He groaned loudly and laid his head on the desk in front of him. Rose ignored him and carried on for the rest of the night ignoring all his objections. 

Albus didn’t return to the Slytherin common room until very late that evening. When he walked through the door the entire room was empty except for one person sitting near the fire pit. Scorpius looked up at him and smiled brightly. 

“Albus, you’re getting home pretty late,” Scorpius announced happily. Albus didn’t respond and rushed to the stairwell. 

“Wait, Albus, I’m glad I caught you,” Scorpius called after him, running to block the staircase.

“Let me through, Scorpius,” Albus said sternly. 

“Please, let me say my piece.” 

“I’ve heard everything I need to from you,” Albus told him as he tried to push past Scorpius. He adjusted his stance and prevented Albus from getting past him. 

“I love you,” Scorpius announced abruptly. Albus reeled back in shock. “I love you, Albus.”

Albus stared at him for a long time, unable to respond. Scorpius’s eyes were wide and he wore his wicked grin that Albus used to love. He reached out to touch him, but Albus knocked his hand away.

“You don’t get to do that,” Albus told him.

“Do what?” Scorpius questioned innocently. 

“You can’t just say whatever you want to get me back on your side,” Albus explained. “It doesn’t work like that.”

“I’m not!” Scorpius assured him. “I think you’re amazing. I can’t deny it anymore. I love you and I have for a long time.”

“Just stop, Scorpius,” Albus shouted. “You can manipulate everyone else around you, but not me. I know better now.”

“Please, Albus, you’ve got to believe me,” Scorpius begged.

“Why should I believe you?” Albus asked. “You’ve spent the past two months lying to me. I’m ashamed of myself for falling for it. Everyone was right about you and I was too stupid to listen to them. You’re a manipulative, lying, fraudulent cheater just like your father and the rest of your family.”

“Don’t compare me to my father, Albus,” Scorpius said sternly. 

“If the shoe fits, wear it, Scorpius,” Albus said and then brushed past him and stormed up the stairs leaving Scorpius behind. 

 

Scorpius didn’t try to speak to Albus after that. They avoided each other at meals and sat as far away from each other during classes. Albus spent all of his free time with either Lily or Rose. He enjoyed talking with Lily as she was pretty much the only person he knew who wasn’t completely focused on the O.W.L.s. He also began speaking with James again, who recently discovered the rift between Albus and Scorpius. James spent nearly all of their conversations speaking ill of Scorpius and Albus listened politely but never chimed in. In all honesty, Albus still desperately wanted to believe that Scorpius was a good person.

Despite the despair over his lost companion, Albus was happy to get reconnect with his family. He knew he’d been neglecting them but he hadn’t realized how much until he started seeing them again. Albus had even begun sitting with them at the Gryffindor table. He used to do it occasionally before he and Scorpius started talking. It was while he was sitting next to Rose at the dinner table that Headmaster McGonagall made a shocking announcement. 

“Excuse me, students,” She said. The chatter in the Great Hall died down immediately. “I have an announcement.” All eyes were on her as she spoke.

“It has come to my attention that a certain member of the Slytherin Qudditch team cheated during the final Quidditch match of the season,” She stated. The chatter started up once more and Albus met Scorpius’s eyes from across the room. 

“You bet he has!” James yelled from his seat.

“Quiet down, everyone,” Headmaster McGonagall barked. “As I said, cheating has occurred and I must therefore confiscate the Quidditch Cup from the Slytherin house.”

The houses erupted in conversation. The Slytherins sounded outraged and the Gryffindors raved in their seats. Albus still had his eyes locked on Scorpius who remained silent and unexpressive. 

“Be quiet!” McGonagall shouted. The silence hung in the air and Headmaster McGonagall cleared her throat and continued. “The house with the next highest point total will be awarded the Cup.” She paused for more discussion, but none followed. “That would be the Gryffindor house.”

Albus watched as the students all around him cheered in their seats. James jumped up and down by the table and screamed. He looked up at the Headmaster, who looked amused for a moment, and then silenced the crowd once more. 

“In addition, Scorpius Malfoy has now been removed as the Slytherin captain and is banned from playing Quidditch for the rest of his Hogwarts career.”

Albus looked at Scorpius once more, who was staring promptly at his plate. The rest of the Slytherin house was in uproar. Everyone seemed to be disgusted by the removal of Scorpius, who was easily the best player on the Quidditch team. McGonagall ignored them all.

“That will be all,” She said as she stepped down and took her seat. 

Everyone in the Great Hall seemed to have something to say on the subject and Albus thought he’d never been in a room so loud, even on Christmas at his grandparents’ house. The Gryffindors around him were discussing the celebration that would ensue later that evening and the Ravenclaws and Hufflepuffs were complaining about both houses loudly. Perhaps the loudest table was the Slytherin table, where each student seemed to rant louder than the next. They had already begun writing a petition to get Scorpius reinstated as captain. Albus watched as several of Scorpius’s friends talked to him, but Scorpius still stared at his plate. After some of the commotion died down Scorpius stood and walked out of the Great Hall and Albus followed suit. He followed him outside and into the front of the castle. 

“Scorpius, wait,” Albus called out after him. The June air was warm and comforting and the sun was setting. Scorpius turned to look at Albus. The both stood, facing one another and staring into each other’s eyes. 

“I didn’t tell anyone,” Albus assured him.

“I know that,” Scorpius responded. 

“How did McGonagall find out?” Albus asked.

“I told her,” Scorpius stated plainly. 

“You told her?” Albus questioned in surprise. “Everything? You told her everything?

“Yes, I told her everything.”

“But why? You can’t play Qudditch anymore! How weren’t you expelled?” Albus demanded.

“I’m lucky,” Scorpius admitted. “And my family still has some pull at this school, despite how horrible they are.” 

“Why did you tell her, though? I was never going to rat you out,” Albus told him. 

“Albus, you basically told me I was scum,” Scorpius reminded him. “You know me better than anyone else on the planet and you think I’m scum.” 

“I was angry when I said those things,” Albus explained.

“No, you were right,” Scorpius admitted. “To hear your best friend say those things about you, it really makes you think.” 

“What do you mean?” Albus asked.

“I told you I loved you and you thought I was lying. You thought I was trying to get under your skin,” Scorpius explained. “I bared my heart to you and think so little of me that you thought it was some sick game.” 

Albus gawked at him, unable to formulate a response. His heart was beating out of his chest and his hands were shaking.

“I guess I figured I had to do something honest for once in my life,” Scorpius told him. 

“You did this for me?” Albus questioned. “You ruined your life for me?”

“My life was ruined the moment you walked out of it.”

“Don’t be dramatic, Score,” Albus scoffed.

“I’m not being dramatic, Al. You’re the best thing that’s ever happened to me,” Scorpius admitted. “No one has ever tried to get to know me the way you have. No one’s ever wanted to get to know me.”

“I can’t believe you did this,” Albus said, shaking his head. He began to laugh wildly. “You love Qudditch.”

“I love you, Albus,” Scorpius repeated. 

“You could have had a future in Quidditch, Scorpius,” Albus continued.

“I want to have a future with you,” Scorpius told him.

“What are you talking about, Scorpius,” Albus asked dramatically.

“I love you!” Scorpius yelled at him. Albus shut up immediately and stared at him with wide eyes. His breath all but stopped and his hands shook.

“You love me?”

“I love you.” 

“I love you, too,” Albus admitted after a long pause. “I am in love with you.”

Scorpius stepped toward Albus and hesitated as if he suspected Albus to push him away. When Albus didn’t move he took another step and another until he closed the distance between them. Scorpius reached out and grabbed Albus by the head and pulled him in for a kiss. His hands were sweating and his lips trembled. When they broke away each of them were breathing heavy and they refused to break eye contact. 

“You weren’t lying,” Albus said dazed.

“I wouldn’t lie to you,” Scorpius told him genuinely. 

Before either of them knew what they were doing they were kissing again. The kiss was deep and passionate, each of them grasping desperately at one another. Albus nearly melted under Scorpius’s touch and he shook at Scorpius pressed against him.

“I’m sorry about the Quidditch Cup,” Albus told him eventually, when they were able to break away from one another. They were still standing outside and the sun had long since set. 

“It was worth it,” Scorpius assured him. He reached out and grabbed Albus’s hand. “Let’s go inside.”

“I’ve missed you,” Albus admitted as they walked toward the Slytherin dorms.

“I’ve missed you too,” Scorpius responded. “I hate studying alone.”

Albus scoffed at this but couldn’t hide his laughter. “Why couldn’t one of your Slytherin pals help you study?”

“They’re all idiots,” Scorpius assured him. “You’re the only friend I have that’s smarter than I am.”

Albus blushed, but didn’t deny it. Instead, he considered another part of the sentence.

“Friend?” Albus questioned. 

“What would you like to be called?” Scorpius asked, looking taken aback. “Boyfriend? Partner? Lover?”

“Oh, definitely lover,” Albus responded jestingly. Scorpius smiled at him and pulled him into another hug. 

“It was definitely worth it,” Scorpius muttered into Albus’s hair.


End file.
